Jay,

Thanks for the suggestion. However, the reason I am thinking of a single is because I have come to the conclusion that a twin is probably not in the near future. I have been looking at twins for almost two years (because of Erwin's comment in particular) and I looked at the A*. Just not right now.

Scott,

Maybe you are onto something. Get the Mooney, try to ease into the Culebra trip, and sell in a couple of years.

Thanks again!

Carlos

The Mooney Missile is a little hot rod, and while this one seems to be decent for the $, it may not be the plane for your mission with the range limitation it will have at cruise settings.
I know a Mooney Ovation (Deb) that routinely goes from FXE to Turks, but that is also a 100 Gal capacity with the same motor, larger, more comfortable cabin.
If your mission was to go like H3LL and have a ball, this is a great choice, but limit your trips to 3.5 hrs
You can get a Monroy Tank STC for 89 Gal capacity, but there goes your useful.

If you decide on a Mooney, make sure a specialist does the PPI like Don Maxwell. Make sure your transition training is done by a Mooney specific instructor. You will be $ ahead in the long run.

Mike is spot-on, and a bit too modest to mention that he is a very qualified Mooney CFI and long-time Mooney owner in addition to being a fan. Conveniently he is also located in FL, so he might be able to help you check out a Mooney for consideration and transition.

I'll slightly disagree with the 89-gallon long range tank upgrade (from the stock 64) comment regarding useful load. This Missile has a pretty darn good useful load (for a Mooney) and it would still offer more full-fuel payload than many newer Mooneys with the longer fuselage.

doncha hate it when that voice starts screwing up a really great plan?

Mike,

I cannot seem to find an Ovation in decent, not great, shape for less than about 175K, which tightens my budget substantially. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but Mooney's seem to be in demand right now.

In any event, some of the other comments about range and space have struck a chord. We'll see. If I were not addicted to BT I would just take a break and stop looking at planes.

Thanks,

Carlos

Carlos, I've ignored the voice of reason for 20 years in an effort to avoid the airlines and have had a blast doing it. I've been stranded, been flown through thunderstorms in ERJ's and got bumped from flights enough times to justify the cost and time. I've worn out three airplanes and spent enough on 100LL to buy the planes several times over but wouldn't do it any different. I'm in the middle of doing my own analysis to find something that will do NY to Norcal to continue avoiding the airlines.

Good Ovations are still commanding pretty strong money in my observation. They usually came "loaded" from the factory with everything available on the panel, which means they cost quite a bit. Ovations debuted in 1994, so state-of-the-art "loaded" back then isn't as desirable today unless they've been upgraded, which of course means more money.

One option that is often overlooked is the M20S Eagle, which was only in production from 99-2000. It has the same long fuselage and IO-550 as the Ovation, but de-rated to 244 hp. This was an attempt to replace the legendary M20J (201) that went out of production in 1998, which had the 200 hp Lycoming and intermediate length fuselage. The Eagle was closer to bare bones on the panel vs the typical loaded Ovation, so it cost less, and had more useful load (usually). These are a jewel in today's market IMO, since you're not paying for all kinds of stuff in the panel like a DME, ADF, etc. and you can easily upgrade to your needs with a G500, Aspen, newer GPS/com, etc. Even better, you can very easily upgrade to 280 or 310 hp via STC (and a new prop) to give you Ovation performance, but with more useful load (typically). I think there were only 40-something of these made, so not many are on the market at any given time. Mooney discovered (again) that buyers of new airplanes do not go for stripped-down versions, and ended production of the Eagle. My own theory is that anyone writing a check for this kind of money won't sweat the ~10% difference between base model and loaded... it has been shown a few times over the years.

Robert,

Thank you. I was getting downright depressed....

Carlos

Scott,

Had not thought of that. Fun project for this weekend.

Thanks,

Carlos

Figure 16gph/180kts and you'll burn over 89 gallons on this flight. Would need something like 120 to do it comfortably.

I really think a 172 at SJU would be the solution here. A quick sju-culebra leg makes things easier.

For a Missile it's a pretty nice plane. Personally, I think the avionics are on the weak side. Yes, it has an Aspen, but everything else is just fair. I think a 430 makes a good back up. More important, the autopilot is lousy. I wouldn't want to fly that distance without a better autopilot with alt hold.

A 600 Aerostar with extended wings and an aux tank will make the trip on 165 gal. with 44 gal. in reserve in about 6 hrs. At $6.00 / gal that is $990.00 for fuel alone. I wouldn't think you would have to spend more than 200K for a really nice one. The 600's also hold their value really well should you ever want to sell it. With that fuel load you would have 350 lbs. for payload so not a lot extra if any.

Charles,

I'm not doing this non stop. Its here to Turks, and then to Culebra. At 16GPH and 180kts, 64 gallons is very doable to Turks.

A 172 at Isla Grande would be WONDERFUL, because flights back to Florida are easy.,Its getting out of Culebra on my schedule that can be difficult. However, I just don't see that happening. I would want something to visit clients here also. Like the way you are thinking though!

Carlos

Sanford,

Thanks.

Carlos

Carlos, you are right, decent ovations will go 175 and up. You can get a Bravo for less, but that certainly wont get you to Turks, and they are thirsty critters. Space isn't bad in the K models, it just probably isn't the best pick for your stated mission. If you decide to act on this plane, feel free to contact me. Missiles are nice planes.
mike at aviating.com, mike.elliott at mooneysummit.com

Scott, thank you for your kind words.
Mike Elliott MCFI, FAAsteam lead rep